The number of elderly people who are victims of abuse may be much higher than reported, according to the chairman of the Working Group on Elder Abuse.
Prof Desmond O'Neill, of Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Dublin and a professor of gerontology at Trinity College Dublin, will present new evidence supporting this claim to the fifth UCC population summer school on Violence - a public health issue this Friday.
It is currently estimated that 3-5 per cent, or between 12,000 and 20,000 people, are affected by elder abuse, which is defined as the abuse, neglect or mistreatment of older people.
Based on studies carried out in other developing countries, of these, about 8 per cent are believed to be physically abused.
"To put it in context, if a doctor sees 30-40 elderly patients a day, he will see at least one person suffering elder abuse," said Prof O'Neill.
However, a recent study carried out in Texas argues that many incidences may be going unnoticed, mainly because elderly people are increasingly reluctant to report the abuse.
"One problem is that older people are less forthcoming. It makes the assessment more complex. Unlike with child abuse, when it comes to older people the issue of consent is very important, and critical to conduct an investigation," said Prof O'Neill.
"Unfortunately, in many cases they may be caught in an interdependent relationship with their abusers.
"In some cases they are afraid they will lose their carer or, if the abuser is a family member, they are afraid that they will be put in a home. All these things can prevent someone from coming forward.
"Also elderly people fall and bruise easily, so often it's hard to distinguish when their injuries are as a result of abuse. Because of this there are often times when claims are not taken seriously."
Part of the solution, according to Prof O'Neill, is to integrate training on identifying and responding to cases of elder abuse into the education of health and social care professionals, and to provide follow-up training in the area.
He has also called for social care services to be made more readily available within communities.
"The most important thing is to put in people to deal with potential problems so that at least there is somewhere to go if they are in danger and the perpetrators know they're being monitored - that someone knows what they're doing," said Prof O'Neill.
The HSE is to set up a committee comprising 30 senior care workers, one for each of the care areas. The committee, which was due to be in place by May of this year, will provide support to existing social care workers in dealing with reports of suspected elder abuse.
To date, no one has been appointed to the positions, and Prof O'Neill will renew his appeal for the immediate employment of the senior care workers at the conference on Friday.